EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Short Interest Down 20.7% in March

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, a drop of 20.7% from the February 28th total of 2,850,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 713,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EPR Properties news, SVP Gwendolyn Mary Johnson sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total value of $210,678.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $443,828.32. The trade was a 32.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brian Andrew Moriarty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.99, for a total transaction of $129,975.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $795,395.01. This represents a 14.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,520 shares of company stock valued at $502,581. 2.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EPR Properties

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in EPR Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in EPR Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in EPR Properties by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in EPR Properties by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in EPR Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 74.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EPR Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EPR stock opened at $51.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 7.81 and a current ratio of 7.81. EPR Properties has a one year low of $39.66 and a one year high of $54.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $49.77 and its 200 day moving average is $47.40.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.56. EPR Properties had a net margin of 28.87% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $149.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.25 million. Sell-side analysts expect that EPR Properties will post 4.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EPR Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. This is a boost from EPR Properties’s previous monthly dividend of $0.29. EPR Properties’s payout ratio is currently 221.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EPR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of EPR Properties from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on EPR Properties from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on EPR Properties from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on EPR Properties from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EPR Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.00.

About EPR Properties

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues that create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money.